Jacob sprinted through the woods, searching for any monstrous creature that might challenge him. His heart raced as he spotted a gigantic Shadow Wolf nearby. Without hesitation, he activated his skill, summoning red gauntlets onto his hands before leaping toward the ferocious beast. The wolf, sensing his presence, nimbly dodged and swiped at Jacob. Despite his attempt to evade midair, the wolf's claws sliced clean through his neck. His head separated from his body as he fell lifelessly to the ground, his form dissolving into particles as the system restarted him.
"That stupid wolf," Jacob muttered, his eyes narrowing with determination as he scanned the area for the very creature that had bested him. "It has no idea who it's messing with."
He spotted the wolf charging toward him and rushed to meet it head-on. As they raced toward each other, Jacob leaped forward with his signature move and struck the wolf with a powerful punch. The impact generated a shockwave that sent the beast flying through several trees before it skidded across the ground. To Jacob's dismay, the wolf appeared virtually unharmed—only its momentum had carried it away, not any actual damage.
"What? Not even my fists, not even this skill, not even my gauntlets could damage this thing?" Jacob clenched his teeth in frustration. "I don't care—I'm going to pound it to pieces," he declared, launching himself forward.
He unleashed a barrage of punches, driving the wolf further into the ground until they stood in a large crater. The beast sustained only minor injuries—a few cuts marring its shadowy skin. Fury consumed Jacob as he jumped high into the air and pounded the beast with such intensity that he nearly punched a hole through its body. All his anger and frustration flowed through his fists. After the beast finally fell, Jacob rose to his feet and began searching for more creatures to vanquish.
"One out of thirty beasts have been killed. You have been killed once," the system notification announced.
Jacob eventually discovered a shadow snake sleeping peacefully. "Well, this is an easy kill," he smirked, raising his gauntlet. The snake, however, sprang awake and bit his arm. Though the gauntlet protected his hand, the snake's teeth sank deeply into his exposed forearm, its mouth engulfing both the gauntlet and his hand.
The creature refused to release its grip, so Jacob decided to use this to his advantage. Lifting the snake, he swung it like a chain, smashing its body against the ground and nearby trees. He performed a backflip before slamming the beast down with such force that its body split in half. The snake finally released its grip and perished.
"Two beasts killed. You have died once," the system updated.
"This might be easier than I thought," Jacob mused, his confidence growing.
One of the same shadowy humanoid creatures with bladed hands that had attacked his group before now lunged at Jacob. Having faced this type before, he deftly dodged the blades, grabbed one, and ripped it off. Deactivating his gauntlet skill, he wielded the blade against its owner, thrusting it like a spear directly into the beast's heart. The creature collapsed to the ground, defeated.
"You have unlocked the inventory skill. Would you like to store the beast blade inside your inventory? Yes or no?"
"No, I don't need that stupid blade," Jacob replied, selecting "no" in the skill interface. The blade vanished along with the entire body, leaving nothing behind. Even if there had been loot, Jacob wouldn't have bothered collecting it—his sole focus was escaping this endless loop.
Jacob ran through the forest for hours, his feet developing painful blisters. He encountered no beasts for miles until he finally discovered why—a gigantic shadow creature awaited him. Similar to the bladed humanoid but larger, it possessed four arms with deadly blades and wore a shadowy crown upon its head. The beast attacked, swinging its forearms at Jacob. He managed to dodge most attacks until the final arm sliced off his leg.
He screamed in agony as he fell, the back of his head bouncing twice against the hard ground before coming to rest. Clutching the bloody stump where his leg had been, Jacob struggled to rise but failed. "I'm dead," he whispered as the beast drove all four bladed arms into his body, ending his life once more.
"Two beasts have been killed. You have died twice," the system announced.
Jacob awakened at the spawn point and immediately ran for miles, determined to confront the crowned beast again. For four hours, he ran back and forth, fighting the beast repeatedly while also dispatching other challenging creatures he encountered along the way.
"Fifteen beasts have been killed. You have died fourteen times," came the update.
Eventually, Jacob decided to avoid the boss beast and focus on eliminating the remaining creatures in the area. His concentration lapsed momentarily, allowing a serpent-like beast—similar to but distinct from the one he'd fought earlier—to catch him off guard and kill him.
"Twenty-four beasts have been killed. You have died fifteen times."
"Only six more beasts left," Jacob muttered to himself. When he reached twenty-nine kills, he would return to show that boss beast exactly what he was capable of.
After eliminating four more creatures with relative ease, Jacob dispatched the fifth one and rushed forward, eager to confront the boss again.
"I bet those losers are going to die without me," he smirked, imagining his companions' struggles. "Damien is probably going to fall to the first monster he encounters. As for Shadow, I don't care about that guy. Michael? I hope he suffers an agonizing death. Bread irritates me beyond measure. Awana seems to be the only tolerable person in our group. The professor is just another moron. I wonder how those losers are managing without me."
Jacob finally located the six-armed blade-crowned beast and charged forward. His gauntlets pulsed with energy as he unleashed a relentless assault—punching and slamming his fists into the beast's chest. After an hour of non-stop attacking and dodging, the creature finally succumbed to Jacob's final blow—a punch delivered with his full strength that generated a massive shockwave.
"Thirty beasts have been killed. You died sixteen times," the system announced. "You are safe from the loop. Upgrade will now be processed."
Moments later: "Upgrade has been processed. Red gauntlets have been upgraded to Beast Slayer gauntlets."
The system displayed the description: "Beast Slayer gauntlets: Allows the user to slay beasts easily when the gauntlets are applied. Damage: 40. Average strength style: 10."
Jacob's lips curled into a satisfied smirk. This was amazing—absolutely amazing. He would demonstrate to his companions that he could outperform them all. He would carry the entire group, forcing them to rely on him for survival. He was King, and no one could even contemplate standing above him.